One of the more popular restaurants in the Riley Park/Little Mountain neighbourhood is East is East, a quaint eatery serving Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. At East is East, you can embark on unique dining experience that brings you back to the ancient times of Silk Road.
The restaurant’s rustic, vibrant and mysterious ambiance is inspired by the dhabba’s (eateries) that served travelers along the Silk Road. It’s almost “cavern-esque” with dim lighting, brightly coloured decorative pillows, wooden furniture and Persian rugs.
What We Tried
My husband I went to East is East for lunch and seeing as how it was our first time there we went with the Silk Route Feast. At $22 per person, it is essentially an all-you-can-eat. The way it works is that you choose any two dishes on the Silk Route Feast menu to start. Then you continue ordering more of the same or different dishes throughout the meal. There are 13 dishes you can choose from with many vegan options.
To start, we were given large stainless steel glasses of water with lemon wedges as well as complimentary samples of chai (almond chai and soy chai). We were also presented with a trio of chutneys.
The Feast is served with dhal soup, organic salad, boulani, roti, garlic pickle, and basmati rice. For Round 1, we had the Afghan Eggplant, Alu Gobi, Lamb Curry and Minced Beef Kebab. It was a good start with these lusciously spiced dishes.
The Lamb Curry had nicely tender lamb pieces cooked in onion, sundried tomato, garlic and five spice curry with mushrooms and potatoes. The Alu Gobi had a rich and tangy tomato sauce. The Afghan Eggplant did seem a bit overcooked because it was very mushy. The Minced Beef Kebab seemed a bit dry though it had generous portions of mushrooms and good flavour overall.
For Round 2, we chose the South Indian Fish Curry, Wild Salmon, Chana Masala and Mango Butternut Squash. The fish dishes were tender and flaky and came in rich, creamy curries. The Wild Salmon was more Thai-inspired because the curry had coconut milk, lime leaves and red Thai curry. It was also more spicy than the South Indian Fish Curry. The Chana Masala had nicely tender chick peas in a tomato broth. The Mango Butternut Squash was just way too sweet in taste and the least favourite dish of the meal.
For our final round, Round 3, we had the Chicken Masala and the Baby Okra. The Chicken Masala was on point with a tender pieces of chicken in a creamy curry. The Baby Okra had perfect texture: crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Service
I thought that the food was slow to arrive considering that it should already be pre-cooked. However, the service was good as our server checked on us regularly to see if we wanted more dishes.
Overall Impression of East is East
Our AYCE meal at East is East was very enjoyable overall with very flavourful and wonderfully spiced dishes. We tried 10/13 dishes on the Silk Route Feast; they seemed to have a good diverse selection of dishes. Our favourites were the Lamb Curry, Alu Gobi, Chana Masala, and Wild Salmon. I would love to return to try more of their menu. Rating: 4/5
Website: http://www.eastiseast.ca/
Nosh and Nibble
Thursday 4th of August 2016
I love the live music they happening on the stage on some evenings!
foodgressing
Thursday 4th of August 2016
Where is your review!? I didn't see it!